Capability and Oppression

Jay Drydyk

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2021, vol. 22, issue 4, 527-550

Abstract: The capability approach focuses on understanding and removing unfreedom, so it is surprising that connections between capability and oppression have been little discussed. I take seven steps towards filling that void. (1) There is an intuitive conceptual connection if we understand “oppression” as being held or confined to low capability levels. (2) Normatively, it is noteworthy that oppressed people are held at low capability levels as a result of the agency of others, even if (as in systemic or structural oppression) this effect is not always intended. (3) Capability research can contribute to explaining and understanding oppression, including systemic or structural oppression, and (4) this research not only allows but invites inquiry into what is distinctive about specific forms of oppression. (5) Why these unfreedoms are pervasive and persistent requires deeper explanations, which have agency foundations: one group contributes causally to reducing the agency freedom of others, whether this reduction is anyone’s purpose or not. (6) Our thinking about what is wrong with oppression must match our understanding of why it is pervasive and persistent; thus (7) recognising oppression as a kind of subjection is essential for understanding what is wrong with systemic oppression.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/19452829.2021.1982880 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:22:y:2021:i:4:p:527-550

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CJHD20

DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2021.1982880

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities is currently edited by Kathryn Rosenblum

More articles in Journal of Human Development and Capabilities from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().